ARRI at the Oscars®

Whether analog or digital, ARRI cameras have been the overwhelmingly clear tools of choice for creatives honored during the current awards season. A significant proportion of the winning productions also made use of ARRI lenses, lights and services.

At the 87th Academy Awards® BIRDMAN took top honors, winning Best Picture, Directing, Cinematography and Original Screenplay. Directed by Alejandro Iñárritu and shot by Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, AMC, BIRDMAN was captured with the ALEXA XT M and ALEXA XT Plus on ARRI/ZEISS Master Prime and Leica lenses from ARRI Rental NY.

Lubezki collected his second Oscar®, following last year's win for GRAVITY. Only one other cinematographer has won back-to-back Academy Awards® - John Toll, ASC, who won for LEGENDS OF THE FALL and BRAVEHEART. Earlier this year Lubezki also won a BAFTA Award and an ASC Award for his work on BIRDMAN.

Since ALEXA's entry into the film industry, every film to have won the Oscar® for Cinematography has been shot with the camera system. This year 80% of the films nominated in the Cinematography category were captured with ALEXA, as were 80% in the Visual Effects, 63% in the Best Picture and 60% in the Foreign Language Film categories.

THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL followed up on its Golden Globe for Best Comedy/Musical Motion Picture by claiming four Academy Awards, in the Music (Original Score) ; Makeup and Hairstyling; Costume Design; and Production Design categories.

The Wes Anderson-directed film was shot by Robert Yeoman, ASC with ARRICAM cameras supplied by ARRI Rental in Germany, in addition to a full selection of ARRI lights that included the M-Series, overseen by gaffer Helmut Prein. On the postproduction side ARRI Film &; TV in Berlin provided negative processing, digital dailies and Webgate services.

ARRI Film & TV also provided extensive postproduction services - among them sound, grading and HD/DCP mastering - to CITIZENFOUR, which won the Oscar® for Best Documentary Feature.

Best Foreign Film went to Poland's entry IDA, directed by Pawel Pawlikowski, building on its success in the same category at the BAFTAs. The black-and-white drama was captured with ALEXA and ARRI/ZEISS Ultra Primes by cinematographers Ryszard Lenczewski and Lukasz Zal, who have also been recognized with an ASC Spotlight Award and Camerimage Golden Frog for their efforts on the film.

WHIPLASH, last year’s Sundance Grand Jury and Audience Award winner, garnered three Oscars (Best Supporting Actor, Editing and Sound Mixing). The feature was helmed by Damien Chazelle and shot by Sharone Meir on ALEXA in ProRes.

British biopic THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING scooped Best Actor for Eddie Redmayne. Directed by James Marsh and shot by Benoit Delhomme, AFC, it was filmed with ALEXA cameras provided by ARRI Rental in the UK.

The ubiquity of ARRI equipment is as evident internationally as it is in the United States; just two days before the Academy Awards® were the prestigious César Awards in France, where TIMBUKTU, directed by Abderrahmane Sissako and captured with ALEXA by Sofian El Fani, dominated proceedings by taking the Best Film, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Original Writing, Best Sound, Best Music and Best Editing prizes. Most of the other awards also went to ALEXA or ARRICAM films.

Congratulations to every winner and nominee at all the many awards events; we thank you for relying on ARRI cameras, lenses, lighting and services to help bring your visions from script to screen.